The Aftermath of the Peruta Decision…Is the Debate Over Carrying Concealed Weapons Escalating?

Thomas Jefferson said, “The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.” Is this the framework the court used to find that the 2nd Amendment forbids the State of California from authorizing local authorities to impose a “good cause” requirement to issue a permit to carry a concealed handgun in the Peruta v. County of San Diego case? Did the court fully take into consideration that this “pro-gun” ruling will affect every county in the state?

The aftermath of the Peruta ruling last month has been riddled with Petition’s for Rehearing. First, the California Police Chiefs’ Association and the California Peace Officers Association filed a petition requesting rehearing asserting the issues in this matter are of “exceptional importance” warranting review.

Next, the Attorney General (A.G.) filed a “Petition for Rehearing or Rehearing En Banc” making a robust plea to the court to reconsider the Peruta ruling claiming it is “neither procedurally proper nor substantively sound, it fails to follow precedent as to how 2nd Amendment claims are analyzed, and it is in direct conflict with the holdings of three other federal courts of appeal.” Likewise claiming the legal issues present a case of “exceptional importance,” the A.G. is seeking “en banc review,” where the case is heard before all the judges of a court rather than by a panel.

Following the filing of the A.G.’s petition, the Los Angeles Times now reports that the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has been deluged with more than 1,000 concealed weapons applications since rolling back restrictions in the wake of an appellate court ruling. An onslaught my colleague, Paul Cappitelli, predicted in his recent BBKnowledge blog post.

Notably, neither the San Diego Sheriff, where the case originated, nor the California Sheriff’s Association have appealed the ruling or joined any of the other appeals. So what’s next? The 9th Circuit must decide. Do they uphold the ruling providing citizens with greater access to carrying concealed handguns? Do they overturn the ruling placing the “good cause” requirement back into play. Time will tell. The gun debate marches on.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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